1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technique of determining image processing parameters set in an image conversion device which converts image data of an original into image recording data.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an image conversion device that converts image data representing an image of an original into image recording data, the general technique causes the image of the original to be subjected to a variety of image processing operations, such as elimination of noise, color conversion, tone change, size alteration, and sharpening of the image, so as to give a high-quality image. The contents of the image processing are not fixed but varied according to the original and the requirements of the user for the desired output image. The conditions defining the contents of the image processing are set in the form of image processing parameters in an image processing apparatus. Optimum adjustment of these image processing parameters enables output of a high-quality image.
An apparatus has been proposed to improve the quality of the output image in this image conversion device. The proposed apparatus sets image processing parameters based on predetermined parameter conversion rules in the image conversion device and carries out image conversion with the image processing parameters. The operator evaluates a resulting recorded image and inputs corrected image processing parameters based on the result of evaluation. The parameter conversion rules are then modified to realize the corrected image processing parameters. This proposed structure enables the image processing parameters to be corrected according to the inputs of the user and gives a high-quality image that adequately reflects the requirement of the user.
The proposed apparatus, however, has the structure that requires the operator to directly input the corrected image processing parameters and thereby needs a skilled operator in the field of image processing. The quantity of adjustment of the picture quality which the operator requires based on the recorded image is correlated to the actually required variation of the corrected image processing parameters. There is, however, a subtle difference in the correlation among the subjects (for example, figures, still life, and landscape) of the original, and some skill is required to discriminate such a difference.